A JOURNEY INTO THE CLOUDS
The KSR is a narrow-gauge, single-track railway that connects Kalka, at an elevation of 656 m, in Haryana with Shimla, at 2,075 m, in Himachal Pradesh. About 10 seven-coach passenger trains, in addition to single-coach rail motor cars, operate daily on this route that meanders through dense forests and sleepy hill towns. Travelling at a speed of 25 km per hour, the trains offer breathtaking views of Himalayan peaks and misty valleys. With the fog making its way into the coaches, the journey often seems like a ride on the clouds.
At a minimum fare of Rs 17 for the journey from Kalka to Shimla, the KSR is one of the cheapest railways in the world. “The fare per km works out to be around 17.5 paise,” points out a railway official at the Shimla Railway Station. The KSR continues to be one of the most attractive commuting options for the locals, who prefer the rail to the road despite the longer travel time involved.

BRIDGING THE HILLS
The Guiness Book of Rail Facts and Feats calls the KSR the greatest narrow-gauge engineering feat in India. Construction on this section began in 1901 and the line was ready by 1903 despite the harsh terrain, which made tunnelling and building bridges a Herculean task. The KSR has 988 bridges, comprising almost 3 per cent of the total length of the line.
One of the striking features of the railway is the use of multi-arch, gallery-style bridges over the ravines. Says Section Engineer Sandeep Khullar, “The depth of the valley meant that wider bridges were required. Since making wider bridges would have been uneconomical, British engineers decided to go in for multi-tier arch bridges, with the arches taking the weight of the train and transferring it to the pillars.”
The 97.4-m-long and 19.3-m-high bridge no. 226 between the Sonwara and Dharampur stations is one of the greatest examples of arch-gallery bridges on the section. Constructed in 1898 with stone and lime mortar, this is the longest such bridge on the KSR, with 32 arches of different spans. “The fact that bridges like these stand tall even a hundred years after they were constructed testifies to the engineering efficacy of their constructors,” says a Northern Railways official. Bridges 493 and 541, between Kandaghat and Kanoh, are other examples.

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